July 2010

07/31/2010

2 Chronicles 16:2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold
from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king's house, and sent
them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. (NASB)

You never forget how to ride a
bike. At least that is what the saying advocates. I am not sure if that is true
or not. There is not enough empirical data. The same claim is made of other
things as well. The idea is that once something has been learned, the lesson is
forever a part of you.

I am not sure about bicycles, but
I am sure it is not true in our walk with God. Sometimes we forget the lessons
we have learned about faith and practice. Asa did. He had acted in faith. God
had delivered Him from the enemy. Now he lacks faith. He does not trust in God.
He relies on bribery and greed. It works in the short-run. Eventually, he pays
a heavy price for forgetting the lessons. The problem is that Asa reacted
rather than acting. We react in fear. We act in faith. It is a lesson worth
remembering.

07/29/2010

Proverbs 19:5A
false witness will not go unpunished, And he who tells lies will not escape. (NASB)

In biblical times, the word of a
witness was extremely important. In fact, if two male witnesses provided the
same testimony, it was considered true. Sadly, the two witnesses could be
telling lies. It did not matter as long as they were telling the same lies. The
court of public opinion often requires even less evidence. It’s opinion are
often formed on the word of one person – even if that person is deliberately
telling lies.

Any system can be manipulated or
abused. Any person can fail to have personal integrity and moral scruples. In
God’s economy, lies and deception eventually catch up with their disseminators.
A price will be paid. It may come later rather than sooner, but it will come. The
better policy is to be the people of truth.

07/28/2010

Acts 24:5 For we have found this man a real pest and a
fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a
ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. (NASB)

“Quit being a pest!” I do not
know many parents who have not uttered those words. Usually it is context of
one sibling bothering another. The parents know what is going to happen. The
one sibling is stirring things up. Feelings are running strong. Division and dissension
is minutes away.

Paul was a pest for Jesus. He was
stirring things up. He was creating strong feelings. Divisions begin to arise
between those who accepted his message and those who did not. Occasionally, God’s
children should aspire to be pests.

07/27/2010

Acts 23:3 Then Paul said to him, "God is going to
strike you, you whitewashed wall! And do you sit to try me according to the
Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?" (NASB)

Time for another confession: my
first thought with this verse had to do with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
After all, this verse is about deception. In the story of Tom Sawyer, other
people are deceived. In this verse, the issue is self-deception.

Have you ever tried to paint over
writing done in magic marker on a wall? It is nearly impossible. You paint. Things
look good. The paint dries. Through the paint, you can make out the markings.
You repeat the process with the same result.

This is the problem with
legalism. We follow a system of rules and regulations. We say the right things.
We do the right things. We think we are righteous and upright. Then paint dries.
Beneath all of our goodness there is the stain of sin. We cannot make it go
away. We try to make ourselves look better by pointing out the flaws of others.
It has no effect on the stain. The only cure is coming to Christ in repentance
and trusting in His grace.

Every parent has had the
experience. You are with your children in the mall or a playground area. You take
your eyes off them for just a minute. You turn back to find your kids and they
are gone. You have to search for them because they have done what kids
naturally do. They did not intentionally wander away. Their curiosity drew them
away. The danger was not evident to them. Of course, everything was fine when
you once again had them in your sight.

In today’s verse, Solomon prays a
simple God. He wants to make sure God never loses sight of His people. He wants
to know they are watched over. The good news is that this prayer has a certain
answer. God never loses sight of us. Even when we wander away, He is watching.
He never ceases to care of us.

07/23/2010

1 Chronicles 28:9 As for you, my son Solomon, know the
God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for
the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If
you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject
you forever. (NASB)

Yesterday, my daughter and I were
in a store together. She went to look at one thing. I went to look at something
different. When I was ready to leave, I started looking for her. I walked from
one end of the store to the other. I turned around and she was a few steps
behind me. She knew I was looking for her. She made sure that I found her.

I love what this verse says about
God and us. He knows us. He knows us intimately. He wants us to know Him. Many
people have the idea that God hides Himself and His will from us. They seem to
think the Christian life is a giant game of hide-and-seek. This verse corrects
such misunderstandings. If we seek God, He promises to let Himself be found.

07/22/2010

Acts 20:9 And there was a certain young man named
Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul
kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor,
and was picked up dead. (NASB)

Rumor has it that Eutychus was
the first Baptist. He even went on to become a chairperson of the deacons.

Seriously, I am amazed at the
number of people who want to over spiritualize this story. They want to condemn
Eutychus because of his “obvious spiritual immaturity.” After all, if he were
spiritual, he would be riveted to Paul’s every word – no longer how many hours
Paul had been preaching.

In the process of over
spiritualizing, they miss the significance of the story. A young man fell asleep
during rather long sermon. Unfortunately, he was sitting in the window on the third
story of a building. He died. That’s when we come to the point of the story. In
the name of Jesus, Paul was able to bring him back to life. God has a way of
doing amazing things – even when we make poor decisions.

Psalm 86:5 For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to
forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Thee. (NASB)

“I’ll do it when I am good and ready.”
Growing up in a home with four strong-willed (the politically correct term for
stubborn) children meant this phrase was heard often. It might have been, “I
know we have a busy day tomorrow, but I will go to bed when I am good and
ready.” Or it could have been, “I know my term paper is due in a couple of day,
but I will start working on it when I am good and ready.” And there was, “I
know I am running a fever and I just coughed up a lung, but I will go to the
doctor when I am good and ready.”

When use the phrase “good and
ready” to show that we are in control. We call the shots and make the decisions.
In truth, we do not control near as much as we believe. On the other, God
really is in control. He can do what He wants, when He wants. Fortunately for
us, He is good and ready to forgive us. He is good and ready to lavish His
grace and love upon us. He is good and ready to guide and direct us. He is good
and ready to fellowship with us.

Acts 18:28 For he powerfully refuted the Jews in
public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. (NASB)

The dividing line can be very
fine. In a little while, I will be making marinara sauce for tonight’s eggplant
parmesan. One of the last ingredients added will be salt. You have to use
enough to take away the bitterness. If you use too much, the sauce becomes
salty and you lose the full flavor. There is no magic measurement for the
amount. It is a matter of touch and feel.

There is a fine line between
outspoken and obnoxious. God’s people need to be outspoken. We must be willing
to speak our convictions. We must be willing to defend our beliefs. If we do
not speak out and offer defense, then we are being weak. We are not using the
Spirit of power given to us. On the other hand, we must not become obnoxious.
We must not become rude or arrogant in dealing with other people. We must
remember those who are lost are blind to the truth. We must share the truth in
love.

As I prepare to begin a new ministry at Calvary Baptist Church in Modesto, California, I was challenged by what Justin Buzzard. He suggested a initial plan of visiting the men of the church at their work places. I hope to take this challenge to heart and use it in my strategy of building relationships. You can read the Justin's article at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/07/21/go-to-where-your-men-work/